Ribbon shift mechanism



Nov. 1, 1938. E. G. WATKINS ET AL RIBBON SHIFT MECHANISM Filed Feb. 17,1956 3 Sheets-Sheet l Nov. 1, 1938. E. G. wATKiNS ET AL 2,135,156

RIBBON SHIFT MECHANISM.

Filed Feb. 17, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 1933 E. wATKnNs ET AL. 9 3

RIBBON SHIFT MECHANISM Filed Feb. 17, 1936 5 Sheets-Shem 3 Patented Nov.1, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENTv OFFICE RIBBON SHIFT MECHANISM Company,Gardner, Massachusetts Mass., a corporation of Application February 17,1936, Serial No. 64,246

10 Claims.

This invention relates to ribbon shift mechanism capable of generalapplication but par ticularly designed for use on workmens timerecorders.

The invention relates more particularly to that type of time recorder inwhich the time record is printed in figures on individual record cardsand in which a two-color ribbon is used to differentiate between regularand irregular registrations.

It is the general object of our invention to provide improved means forshifting the ribbon automatically from one color to the other atpredetermined time intervals.

A further object is to provide means by which the ribbon shift may beaccomplished with very slight additional load on the time mechanism.

Our invention further relates to arrangements and combinations of partswhich will be hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out inthe appended claims.

'A preferred form of the invention is shown in the drawings, in whichFig. 1 is a front elevation of our improved ribbon-shift mechanism;

Fig. 2 is a partial front elevation but showing certain parts in adifferent position;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the timing mechanism;

Fig. 4 is a sectional plan view, taken along the line 4-4 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional plan view, taken along the line 5-5 in Fig.3;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of certain parts, looking in the direction of thearrow 6 in Fig. 3;

Fig. 7 is a partial sectional side elevation, taken along the line 1-1in Fig. 1;

Fig. 8 is a detail sectional plan view, taken along the line 8-8 in Fig.3; I

Fig. 9 is a side elevation of certain parts shown in Fig. 3 but in adifierent operative relation, and

Fig. 10 is a sectional side elevation, taken along the line Ill-I0 inFig. 5.

Referring to Fig. '7, we have shown type wheels l0 mounted to rotateadjacent a card chute II in which a record card C may be inserted. Aribbon R is interposed between the type wheels II] and the card C, and ahammer I2 is provided for striking a blow against the card, by

which blow the card and ribbon are moved forcibly against the type onthe type Wheels l0, thereby producing a printed record on the card.

The ribbon R is mounted on spools S and S (Clr 197-151) and is woundback and forth from one spool to the other in the usual manner byactuating devices not shown. For the purposes of this application it issufficient to state that the upright shaft I4 (Fig. 1) is intermittentlyrotated from the hammer mechanism and that the shaft I4 is i alsoshifted axially as the ribbon approaches one end or the other of itslimit of travel.

Pinions l5 and I8 (Fig. 1) on the shaft l4 are thus alternately engagedwith gears l1 and I8 on shafts 29 and 2| which support the spools S andS. The spool shafts and 2| are mounted to slide in frame members or sideplates 22 and 24 which are rigidly secured to the frame of the timerecorder.

Grooved collars 25 and 26 (Fig. 1) are secured to the spool shafts 20and 2| respectively, and an auxiliary side plate 21 is mounted to slideon cross rods 28 and 29 fixed in the side plates 22 and 24. The upperand lower ends of the auxiliary side plate 21 are notched to fitinto thegrooves of the collars 25 and 26, so that these collars and the shafts20 and 2| on which they are mounted will be shifted axially when theside plate 21 is moved along the cross rods 28 and 29.

Solenoid coils 30 and 3| (Figs. 1 and 4) are mounted on a casing 32secured to the fixed side plate 22. A plunger 33 is secured at one endto the movable side plate 21 and extends through the axially alignedcoils 30 and 3|.

The movable side plate 2'! has an offset end portion 35 (Figs. 1 and 4)on which is mounted a ribbon guide plate 36 which extends across thefront of the type wheels l0 and guides the ribbon closely adjacent tobut out of contact with said wheels. A shield 31 (Fig. 4) is secured byscrews 38 to the front side of the ribbon guide 36 and is provided witha slot 39 through which the type tobe printed are exposed. The shield 31keeps the ribbon from accidental contact with the card and preventssmudging of the record.

The extreme left-hand end of the ribbon guide 36 is bent rearward asindicated at 49 (Fig. 4) and is slidably supported by a-fixed stud 4|extending through an opening therein. A

The partsthus fardescribed constitute a slidably mounted ribbon carriagewhich may be shifted axially of the type wheels I9 at desired intervalsby energizing a solenoid coil 30 or 3|.

The circuit-closing and releasing mechanism for effecting the desiredshifting movements of the ribbon carriage will now be described.

Wires 44 and .45 (Fig. 3) connect one terminal of each solenoid coil and3i to a line wire L, and wires 48 and 41 connect a second line wire L toa pair of flat spring members 48 and 48 (Fig. 5) respectively. Thespring member 48 has a movable contact (Fig. 10) mounted at the lowerside of its free end, and the spring member 49 has a contact 5I (Fig. 9)similarl mounted.

A plate 52 (Figs. 5 and 10) of hard rubber or similar insulatingmaterial is secured to the end of the fiat spring member 48 and extendssubstantially outward therefrom. The flat spring member 49 (Fig. 9)similarly supports a rubber plate 53. At its extreme outer end, therubber plate 52 is provided with a flat metal plate 54 projectingsomewhat beyond the end of the plate 52, and the rubber plate 53 issimilarly provided with a metal-plate 55, all for a purpose to bedescribed.

The second pair of terminals of the solenoid coils 30 and 3! areconnected by wires 80 and BI (Figs. 1 and 5) to contact plates 82 and 63provided with fixed contacts 64 (Fig. 10) and 65 (Fig. 9) which arealigned with the movable contacts 58 and 5I previously described.

The fiat spring members 48 and 49 and the contact plates 82 and 63 areall supported on a block 58 (Figs. 3 and 10) of hard rubber or similarmaterial, which in turn is mounted on a fixed bracket 6?. Another fixedbracket 68 (Figs. 3 and 9) supports a horizontal plate 69, preferably ofinsulating material, which forms a stop to limit upward movement of therubber plates 52 and 53 and the metal plates 54 and mounted thereon.

Trip levers I8 and TI (Figs. 3 and 6) are loosely mounted on a fixedpivot stud I2 and are provided with upwardly offset cam portions I4 andI5. Coil springs 75 and TI act to pull the right-hand ends of the triplevers downward, as viewed in Fig. 3, and this downward movement islimited by stop screws l8 and I9 in a fixed bracket or arm 88.

The trip lever '50 is provided with a depending link 8i (Fig. 10)pivoted thereto at 82, and the trip lever 75 is similarly provided witha depending link 83 (Fig. 9) pivoted at 84.

The link 83 is provided with an ofiset shoulder 85 adapted under certainconditions to engage the plate 55 associated with the flat spring member48.

The lower end of the link 83 is pivoted at 86 to a horizontal link 81(Figs. 3 and 8) which extends forward in the machine and is providedwith a longitudinal slot 88 at its forward end. A headed stud 80 extendsthrough the slot 88 and with the slot 88 provides a lost motionconnection between the link 81 and a cross arm SI mounted on a verticalrock shaft 92 (Figs. 1 and 3).

A coil spring 93 (Fig. 3) is connected to the link 83 and tends to movethe defending link 83 and horizontal link 8? forward whenever suchmovement is permitted.

The lower end of the depending link 8I (Fig. 8) is similarly pivoted at86 to a horizontal link 91 having a slot 98 in its forward end andconnected by a stud I80 to the opposite end of the cross arm 9|.

The depending link 8I (Fig. 10) is also prois provided at its upper endwith a crank arm I05 having a radial slot I08 (Fig. 3) through which ascrew or stud I0'I extends into a bar I08 (Fig. 1) which is mounted onthe movable ribbon carriage plate 21 previously described and whichextends outwardly therefrom.

From these connections it will be obvious that sliding movement of theribbon carriage will cause the shaft 92 to be oscillated and to move thelinks 8'! and 91 in opposite directions, as indicated by the arrows inFig. 8.

The timing means for actuating the trip levers I0 and TI comprises alarge timing disc IIO (Fig. 3) rotatably mounted on a fixed stud III andprovided with external gear teeth meshing with a small drive pinion II3mounted on a shaft II4 (Fig. 1) which is rotated by time mechanism (notshown) at such a speed that the disc IIO makes one revolution everytwenty-four hours.

Two series of clips II! and H8 are provided, and each of these clips hasa stud I I8 in one end fitting freely in any one of the holes H8, andalso has a segmental slot I20 to receive a screw I2I to be inserted in aselected threaded hole II5.

At its outer end, each clip In has a stud I22 projecting outward fromthe clip and from the adjacent face of the timing disc I I0. Each clipH8 is similarly provided with an outwardly projecting stud I24.

It will be seen from Fig. 3 that the studs I22 on the clips III are at agreater distance from the axis of the disc IIO than the studs I 24 onthe clips H8, and it will also be clear from Fig. 1 that the studs I22are shorter than the studs I24. The outer trip lever II (Fig. 3) is bentupwardly as shown, so that the edge of the cam portion I5 is normallypositioned higher than the corresponding edge of the cam portion I4 ofthe lever I0.

The provision of the clip slots I20 for the screws I2I affords the clipsa certain angular adjustment about their pivot studs II9, so that thestuds I22 and I24 may be set at any desired point in the entiretwenty-four hour circumference.

Having described the details of construction of our improved ribbonshift mechanism, we will now describe the operation thereof.

In Fig. 2 the parts are set in the position to locate the left-hand halfof the two-color ribbon in position for engagement by the type wheels I0and this part of the ribbon may be assumed to be the blue half of theribbon, used for regular or full time records.

The parts will remain in this position until the timing disc II 0rotates sufficiently to bring the stud I24 of the clip II8 (mounted onthe disc H0 at 7:00 A. M.) into contact with the cam portion I5 of theouter trip lever 'II. Depression and subsequent release of the lever IImomentarily closes the circuit through the contacts 5I and and throughthe wire 6| and the solenoid 3|, shifting the ribbon carriage to theleft to the position shown in Figs. 1 and 4, and bringing the right-handor red part of the ribbon in position for engagement by the type wheelsI0 to indicate late or irregular records.

The detailed operation of the connections between the trip lever II andthe solenoid 3I is as follows:

When the stud I24 of a clip I I8 engages the cam portion I5 of the triplever "II and depresses the same, the right-hand end of the lever II isswung upward to the position shown in Fig. 9 against the tension of thespring TI, and the shoulder 85 of the link 83 snaps past the edge of theplate 55 and assumes a position overlapping the edge of the plate.

No further action takes place until the stud I24 passes beyond the sharpedge of the cam portion I of the trip lever II and allows the spring 11to return the lever to its original position, shown in Fig. 3.

During the accompanying downward movement of the link 83, the shoulder85 engages the plate 55 and depresses the contact 5| into engagementwith the fixed contact 65, thus completing the circuit through the wireBI and the solenoid 3|. The solenoid immediately actuates the plunger 33to move the ribbon carriage from the right-hand position shown in Fig. 2to the left-hand position shown in Fig. 1.

This sliding movement of the carriage is-effective through the bar I08(Fig. 1) to rock the crank arm I05 and turn the vertical shaft 92 andcross arm 9| in the direction of the arrow at in Fig. 8.

During the first part of this movement, the stud 90 (Fig. 8) slidesfreely rearward along the slot 88 in the link 81, but as the movementapproaches completion, the stud 90 strikes the end of the slot, drivingthe link 81 rearward, and correspondingly swinging the depending link 83rearward sufficiently to release the edge of the plate 55, whereupon thespring plate 49 snaps upward, breaking the solenoid circuit through thecontacts 5| and 65.

The described movement of the upright shaft 92 and cross arm 93 is alsooperative to move the stud I80 to the intermediate position shown inFig. 8, in which position the link 8! is free to be moved forward by thespring I02 (Fig. 10) into operative position with respect to the edge ofthe plate IIJI, as shown in Figs. 5 and 10.

When the clip II! (which is shown attached to the disc III] at 12:00noon) has been rotated toa position in which its stud I22 engages thecam portion 14 of the trip lever 10, the lever 10 will be thereupondepressed and afterwards released, and will operate in a preciselysimilar manner to energize the solenoid coil 30 and return the ribboncarriage to the initial or right-hand regular position shown in Fig. 2.Such movement swings the shaft 92 and cross arm 9! in a directionopposite to the arrow a in Fig. 8, moving the horizontal link 9'! anddepending link 8| rearward, and breaking the circuit for the solenoid30.

The studs I24 in the clips H8 are too near the axis of the disc H0 toengage the trip lever 10, and the studs I22 in the clips III are tooshort to engage the trip lever II. Each set of clips and studs thusoperates only with its own trip lever.

From the preceding description it will be evident that the power forshifting the ribbon carriage is derived entirely from the solenoid coils30 and 3|, and that the time mechanism simply rotates the timing discIII] very slowly to bring the studs I22 and I24 respectively andalternately into engagement with the trip levers It and II.

Our improved ribbon shift mechanism has proved reliable and satisfactoryin service and has relatively few working parts.

Having thus described our'invention and the advantages thereof, we donot wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, otherwise thanas set forth in the claims, but what we claim is:--

1. In a time recorder, ribbon shift mechanism comprising a slidableribbon carriage, electromagnetic means to shift said carriage in onedirection, means to return said carriage, and automatic means forrendering said electromagnetic means operative and said return meansoperative in fixed alternation.

2. In a time recorder, ribbon shift mechanism comprising a slidableribbon carriage, electromagnetic means to shift said carriage in onedirection, a circuit for said means, means tothereafter return saidcarriage, a disc, mechanism to rotate said disc, adjustable devices onsaid disc effective to cause the closing of the electro-magneticcircuit, and additional adjustable devices on said disc effective torender said return means operative.

3. In a time recorder, ribbon shift mechanism comprising a slidableribbon carriage, electromagnetic means to shift said carriage in onedirection, a circuit therefor, means to return said carriage, automaticmeans for rendering said electro-magnetic means operative and forthereafter rendering said return means operative, and connectionsthrough which movement of said carriage by said electro-magnetic meansbreaks the electro-magnetic circuit.

4. In a time recorder, ribbon shift mechanism comprising a slidableribbon carriage, separate electro-magnetic means to shift said carriagein each direction, and automatic means for rendering said separateelectro-magnetic means operative in fixed alternation.

5. In a time recorder, ribbon shift mechanism comprising a slidableribbon carriage, separate electro-magnetic means to shift said carriagein each direction, a disc, mechanism to rotate said disc, adjustabledevices on said disc effective to cause the closing of oneelectro-magnetic circuit, and additional adjustable devices on said disceffective to cause the closing of the other electromagnetic circuit,said devices and said additional devices being effective to close saidcircuits alternately.

6. In a time recorder, ribbon shift mechanism comprising a slidableribbon carriage, separate electro-magnetic means to shift said carriagein each direction, a circuit therefor, automatic means for selectivelyrendering said electro-magnetic means alternately operative, andconnections through which completion of the resultant carriage movementbreaks the electro-magnetic circuit which was closed.

7. In a time recorder, ribbon shift mechanism comprising a slidableribbon carriage, separate electro-magnetic means to shift said carriagein each direction, a circuit for each electro-magnetio means, automaticmeans for rendering said electro-magnetic means operative in fixedalternation, and means to break each circuit before the other circuitcan be automatically closed.

8. In a time recorder, a ribbon carriage, electro-magnetic means toshift said carriage in one direction, electro-magnetic means to shiftsaid carriage in the opposite direction, a disc, two series ofcircuit-controlling members on said disc, one series controlling theelectro-magnetic means which shifts said carriage in one direction andthe other series controlling the electro-magnetic means which shiftssaid carriage in the opposite direction, and means to rotate said disc.

9. In a time recorder, ribbon shift mechanism comprising a slidableribbon carriage, separate rate electro-magnetic means to shift saidcarriage in each direction, a circuit for each electromagnetic means,automatic means for closing said circuits in fixed alternation to rendersaid electro-magnetic means alternately operative, and means to breakeach circuit before the other circuit is closed and to thereafter breaksaid closed circuit as the resultant carriage movement is completed andto simultaneously render said automatic means available for subsequentauto- 10 matic closing of the circuit previously broken.

EDWARD G. WATKINS. JAMES A. DELL.

